Her granddaughter Tara Bruchas said she died at a Nashville hospital on Sunday.

Smith is credited with coining the term “outlaw country” in the 1970s. She worked as a publicist for Kinky Friedman and worked out of Tompall Glaser’s studio with artists like Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. And it was there she came up with the movement’s moniker for artists who were bucking Music Row trends.

She wrote a regular popular column for “Country Music” magazine, as well as writing for other outlets, and had songs recorded by Tammy Wynette and Dr. Hook. She also worked with Ricky Skaggs and Sharon White and was the host of a CMT series “Southern Fried Flicks.”

A lawyer for Steven Seagal says the actor adamantly denies sexual assault allegations made by two women against the action star.

Faviola Dadis said at a news conference Monday that Seagal toucher her sexually without her consent in 2002 when she was 17, and Regina Simons said Seagal assaulted her in 1995 when she was 18.

Seagal’s attorney Anthony Falangetti said later Monday that the accounts of both women are “completely fictitious and totally made up.”

He says the allegations are a disservice to women who are victimized because of real predators in the film industry.

The women are the latest of several who have come forward in recent months to accuse the 65-year-old action actor of sexual misconduct. He has denied all of the allegations.

___

11:30 a.m.

An aspiring actress says she was 17 when actor Steven Seagal sexually assaulted her during a supposed casting session in 2002.

Faviola Dadis said at a news conference Monday that she had recently moved to the U.S. from the Netherlands when she was invited to a Beverly Hills hotel room to audition for Seagal for a film he planned to make about Genghis Khan.

The 33-year-old former model says only Seagal and his bodyguard were in the room when the actor reached under her bikini top and then grabbed her genitals.

Dadis said she ended the audition and immediately left. She says she feared being blacklisted if she reported Seagal, and only recently filed a police report. Los Angeles County prosecutors say they are reviewing the case.

A lawyer for Steven Seagal says the actor adamantly denies sexual assault allegations made by two women against the action star.

Faviola Dadis said at a news conference Monday that Seagal toucher her sexually without her consent in 2002 when she was 17, and Regina Simons said Seagal assaulted her in 1995 when she was 18.

Seagal’s attorney Anthony Falangetti said later Monday that the accounts of both women are “completely fictitious and totally made up.”

He says the allegations are a disservice to women who are victimized because of real predators in the film industry.

The women are the latest of several who have come forward in recent months to accuse the 65-year-old action actor of sexual misconduct. He has denied all of the allegations.

___

11:30 a.m.

An aspiring actress says she was 17 when actor Steven Seagal sexually assaulted her during a supposed casting session in 2002.

Faviola Dadis said at a news conference Monday that she had recently moved to the U.S. from the Netherlands when she was invited to a Beverly Hills hotel room to audition for Seagal for a film he planned to make about Genghis Khan.

The 33-year-old former model says only Seagal and his bodyguard were in the room when the actor reached under her bikini top and then grabbed her genitals.

Dadis said she ended the audition and immediately left. She says she feared being blacklisted if she reported Seagal, and only recently filed a police report. Los Angeles County prosecutors say they are reviewing the case.

Klepper is taking Thursday’s episode of his show, “The Opposition,” out of a New York studio and into the living room of a private home in the Bethesda, Maryland area. That’s where many young people plan to gather in preparation for Saturday’s March For Our Lives on Washington to oppose gun violence.

“It’s so nice to be inspired by people who aren’t cynical about the political process, who are actually doing something,” Klepper said on Monday.

Klepper took a special interest in the issue even before he began hosting the weekday show, which airs at 11:30 p.m. EDT, last year. He did reporting on gun control for “The Daily Show” and hosted a one-hour “investigative comedy” special last June titled “Jordan Klepper Solves Guns.”

He didn’t solve much, of course. But in the process of talking to people on all sides of the issue, Klepper said he was surprised by how much common ground he saw on issues like background checks and scientific research. To him, it has made the lack of political action on the issue despite several mass shootings particularly frustrating.

Klepper got some attention last month for having two student survivors of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting on for interviews.

“The students are doing an amazing job of keeping this conversation going and elevating this, both in the news and in people’s minds, so it doesn’t just go away and people in positions of power can forget about it as well,” he said.

Show researchers found an organization called DC Teens Action, which is matching people coming in for the march with host families in the area. Comedy Central made arrangements with one such group to highlight for the show.

In addition to the young participants, U.S. Sen Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, will stop by.

Klepper won’t be breaking character to conduct his interviews. He plays a conservative conspiracy theorist on the show, much like Stephen Colbert played a conservative talk show host when he was at Comedy Central.

He found that when he interviewed the Parkland students, they later appreciated Klepper going after them in this fashion, because it gave the students the chance to refute claims made against them.

“The best thing that we can do is filter it through the resistance that they are seeing,” he said. “It’s always a balance to play a character who’s coming at things that are perhaps the direct opposite of the way that I would feel about them. But what’s also refreshing about the situation is that they do get to push back against the trolls.”

His show also will be filming at Saturday’s rally for future segments.

“Whenever you see an opportunity where maybe the conversation can change things, you have at it,” he said.

]]>http://www.news957.com/entertainment/2018/03/19/comedy-centrals-klepper-gathers-with-gun-activists/feed/0Jurisdiction issue delays Juelz Santana’s detention hearinghttp://www.news957.com/entertainment/2018/03/19/jurisdiction-issue-delays-juelz-santanas-detention-hearing/
http://www.news957.com/entertainment/2018/03/19/jurisdiction-issue-delays-juelz-santanas-detention-hearing/#respondMon, 19 Mar 2018 19:55:16 +0000http://www.news957.com/entertainment/2018/03/19/jurisdiction-issue-delays-juelz-santanas-detention-hearing/NEWARK, N.J. – A detention hearing for rapper Juelz Santana has been postponed until authorities decide who will prosecute the drug and gun charges he faces following an incident at Newark Liberty International Airport.

A judge was due to decide Monday whether Santana would remain jailed until his trial. Officials say that hearing will likely now occur sometime this week.

Santana pleaded not guilty to state charges last week. He also faces federal charges in the same incident

Authorities say security personnel found a loaded .38-calibre handgun and oxycodone pills he didn’t have a prescription for in a carry-on bag containing his identification.

They say he fled the area, leaving two bags behind. He turned himself in three days later.

The 36-year-old New York City-born rapper lives in Totowa, New Jersey. His real name is LaRon James.

]]>http://www.news957.com/entertainment/2018/03/19/jurisdiction-issue-delays-juelz-santanas-detention-hearing/feed/0AP names Nancy Benac as White House news editorhttp://www.news957.com/entertainment/2018/03/19/ap-names-nancy-benac-as-white-house-news-editor/
http://www.news957.com/entertainment/2018/03/19/ap-names-nancy-benac-as-white-house-news-editor/#respondMon, 19 Mar 2018 19:54:50 +0000http://www.news957.com/entertainment/2018/03/19/ap-names-nancy-benac-as-white-house-news-editor/WASHINGTON – Nancy Benac, a veteran Washington journalist who has covered the presidency and national political campaigns, has been named White House news editor at The Associated Press.

The appointment was announced Monday by Julie Pace, AP’s Washington bureau chief.

Benac will lead a team of AP reporters covering all aspects of President Donald Trump’s White House, one of the most competitive and closely watched beats in the world. She’s overseen the White House team on an interim basis since last summer.

“Nancy has already established herself as an invaluable member of the bureau’s leadership team and has earned the respect of the White House reporters,” Pace said. “She brings a sophisticated eye to her editing and is simply never rattled, despite the relentless pace of White House coverage.”

Benac has worked for the AP for more than 35 years, covering government and politics. She began her AP career as an intern in the New York City bureau in 1980, followed by stints in Detroit and Lansing, Michigan, before moving to Washington as the Michigan regional reporter in 1983.

Over two-plus decades in Washington, Benac has covered a wide variety of beats, including the Clinton White House, and served as political editor for three national election cycles. She was a contributing author to the AP history book, “Breaking News: How the Associated Press Has Covered War, Peace, and Everything Else.”

A native of Lombard, Illinois, Nancy is a graduate of Brigham Young University. She and her husband have two children.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office says a review of how prosecutors handled a 2015 sex abuse case against Harvey Weinstein will show the investigation was handled properly.

New York’s governor on Monday directed the state’s attorney general to review a decision not to prosecute the disgraced media mogul after an Italian model told police that he groped her.

The woman caught Weinstein apologizing on tape during a sting operation, but the DA’s office declined to prosecute the case.

Spokesman Danny Frost says the DA’s office will provide the attorney general with any information necessary.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo made the directive on Monday, hours after Time’s Up, an initiative started by Hollywood industry women, asked for the review.

In a statement, the Democratic governor asked that the review be conducted “in a way that does not interfere with the current investigation.”

___

8 p.m.

New York’s governor has directed the state attorney general to review the 2015 decision by the Manhattan district attorney’s office not to prosecute a sex abuse case against Harvey Weinstein.

An initiative started by Hollywood industry women had called for Gov. Andrew Cuomo (KWOH’-moh) to investigate the DA’s office after a New York magazine published an article about the case involving an Italian model who said Weinstein groped her.

Time’s Up says an investigation is necessary to protect the integrity of the office. Police have said the case should have been prosecuted; the district attorney’s office disagreed.

In a statement, the Democratic governor asked that the review be conducted “in a way that does not interfere with the current investigation.”

The Manhattan DA’s office says a criminal investigation into Weinstein is active and ongoing.

___

3:30 p.m.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office says a criminal investigation into Harvey Weinstein is active and ongoing and a commitment to justice in sexual abuse cases is “unwavering.”

The comments by spokesman Danny Frost Monday came as the Time’s Up initiative called for the governor to investigate the district attorney’s office for refusing to prosecute the disgraced media mogul in 2015. Police have said the case should’ve been prosecuted; the district attorney’s office disagreed.

Frost says the sex crimes unit is a national leader in the investigating and prosecution of sex crimes. Police and prosecutors may disagree sometimes, but never at the expense of justice.

Time’s Up was started by women in Hollywood. The statement from the group came after New York magazine published an article about the 2015 case involving an Italian model who said Weinstein groped her.

___

1:30 p.m.

An initiative started by Hollywood industry women is calling for New York’s governor to investigate the Manhattan district attorney’s office over a decision in 2015 not to prosecute a sex abuse case against Harvey Weinstein.

Time’s Up says a report in New York magazine is disturbing because it suggests the district attorney’s office may have been improperly influenced by Weinstein and sought to intimidate an Italian model who accused the disgraced media mogul of groping her.

She secretly recorded him in a police sting. The district attorney’s office decided there wasn’t enough evidence to prosecute.

Time’s Up says an investigation is necessary to protect the integrity of the office.

The New York festival announced Monday that Spielberg will join Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley and Embeth Davidtz for a post-screening conversation April 26 at the Beacon Theatre. The “Scarface” event will reunite De Palma, Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer on April 19 at the Beacon Theatre.

The festival will also host an anniversary screening of 1992’s “In the Soup,” an acclaimed independent film directed by Alexandre Rockwell. The largely forgotten release, starring Steve Buscemi and Seymour Cassel, has been restored following a Kickstarter campaign to repair the remaining, damaged print.

]]>http://www.news957.com/entertainment/2018/03/19/tribeca-to-hold-schindlers-list-scarface-reunions/feed/0Woman says Steven Seagal sexually assaulted her at auditionhttp://www.news957.com/entertainment/2018/03/19/woman-says-steven-seagal-sexually-assaulted-her-at-audition/
http://www.news957.com/entertainment/2018/03/19/woman-says-steven-seagal-sexually-assaulted-her-at-audition/#respondMon, 19 Mar 2018 19:31:14 +0000http://www.news957.com/entertainment/2018/03/19/woman-says-steven-seagal-sexually-assaulted-her-at-audition/LOS ANGELES, Calif. – A woman on Monday said she was a 17-year-old model and aspiring actress when Steven Seagal sexually assaulted her at a supposed casting session at a Beverly Hills hotel room in 2002.

Faviola Dadis was emotional but composed as she spoke at a news conference in Los Angeles, becoming the latest of several women to accuse the action star of sexual misconduct.

Dadis said Seagal reached under her bikini top, grabbed her nipples and then grabbed her genitals soon after the audition began. She said she promptly ended the audition and left deeply shaken.

“I have suffered from depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress, have found it difficult to form trusting relationships with men,” Dadis said through tears as she read from a written statement.

She recently filed a report with police, and Los Angeles prosecutors said Monday that her case is under review.

Dadis spoke at the news conference alongside her attorney, Lisa Bloom, and another woman, Regina Simons, who said Seagal sexually assaulted her in 1995 when she was 18, allegations she previously made on NBC’s “Megyn Kelly Today” in January.

“These claims by the two women who spoke today are completely fictitious and totally made up,” Falangetti told The Associated Press in a phone interview later Monday.

He said it was implausible that either woman ended up unaccompanied with Seagal in the ways they said they were.

“Neither one of their accounts is at all believable,” Falangetti said.

Dadis, now a 33-year-old doctoral candidate in clinical neuroscience, said she had recently moved to the U.S. from the Netherlands when a music producer introduced her to Seagal. After several phone calls and text messages, Seagal invited Dadis to a hotel room in Beverly Hills for the late-night casting session for a film he planned to make about Genghis Khan, Dadis said.

Dadis brought a family friend because her mother was suspicious, but the person stayed in the lobby and she ended up in a room with only Seagal and his personal security guard.

Seagal had told her to wear a bikini or bra and panties under her clothes, and had her walk around the room in the bikini before saying he wanted to test their chemistry together and started touching her, Dadis said.

“Steven sat there calmly as if nothing had happened while I was noticeably upset and terrified by the experience,” she said. “I left feeling horrified and totally violated.”

She said she told friends after about a month, but did not go to authorities at the time because she feared being blacklisted in the entertainment industry. She said Seagal later called her, but she never accepted the calls.

Dadis said she was inspired by the recent wave of reports of sexual misconduct by men in the entertainment industry, and was spurred to come forward especially by actress Portia de Rossi saying Seagal once unzipped his pants during an audition with her.

Actress Jenny McCarthy has also said Seagal sexually harassed her at an audition in 1995.

The directive came just hours after Time’s Up, an initiative started by a powerhouse group of Hollywood industry women to fight systemic sexual harassment, called on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to investigate.

In a statement, the group said a report in New York Magazine on the handling of the case was disturbing because it suggested the district attorney’s office may have been improperly influenced by Weinstein and sought to intimidate an Italian model who accused the disgraced media mogul of groping her.

“It is critical not only that these cases are given the utmost attention but also that there is public confidence in the handling of these cases,” Cuomo said in a statement.

Scores of new allegations against Weinstein have surfaced since last fall, and both the New York Police Department and the district attorney’s office have said they are working together. But no grand jury has been convened, despite police officials saying publicly they have enough evidence to bring a case. Less than two weeks ago, the police department’s chief of detectives said witnesses were ready for the grand jury — but it was up to the district attorney to decide when to convene it. Prosecutors said Monday the case was still under active investigation.

Cuomo, a Democrat, asked that the review be conducted “in a way that does not interfere with the current investigation,” but added that the district attorney believes the ongoing investigation will be completed within 45 days.

The New York Magazine article centres on the case of Ambra Battilana Gutierrez. In 2015, police conducted a sting after she accused Weinstein of groping her, secretly recording Weinstein apologizing for this conduct.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. ultimately decided there was not enough proof and did not bring a case. Following criticism over the decision last year, prosecutors said police arranged the sting without their knowledge and there were other proof issues, but police pushed back saying they had presented enough evidence.

Danny Frost, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office, said the allegations in the magazine had “little resemblance to the facts. The office has an “unwavering” commitment to justice in such case and great admiration “for the courageous women and men who have brought about a long-overdue reckoning with decades of intolerable sexual abuse,” he said.

He also said the office would provide any necessary information for the review, and was confident it would find the office acted properly.

Vance and Police Commissioner James O’Neill later released a joint statement insisting the two agencies worked collaboratively to hold sexual predators accountable.

“We will continue working collaboratively and professionally to deliver just to victims of crime,” they said. “From time to time we’ll have our disagreements but we will never allow them to undermine this shared endeavour.”

Weinstein’s attorneys have said he denies any non-consensual sexual contact.

The Time’s Up statement said a prosecution of the 2015 case could have prevented other alleged sexual assaults.

“There will only be real consequences for abusive behaviour when our public officials, sworn to uphold the law, care as much about the rights of the victim as concerns for the accused.”

The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they speak publicly, as Battilana Gutierrez has done.

Time’s Up was created by about 300 women and includes the producer Shonda Rhimes and actresses Reese Witherspoon and America Ferrera.